Splitting and scarfing machine.



T. G. SMITH.

SPLITTING AND SOABFING MACHINE.

APPLIG'ATION FILED SEPT. 21, 1912.

1,095,293, Patented May 5, 1914.

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THOMAS GREATORESE SMITH, OF LEICESTER, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

SPL-ITTING AND SCARFING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 5, 1914.

Application filed September 21, 1912. Serial No. 721,702.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, THOMAS G. SMITH, a

subject of the King of England, residing at Leicester, Leicestershire, England, have invented certain Improvements in Splitting and Scarfing Machines, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

. This invention relates to cutting machines and is herein illustrated in connection with a machine by which a piece of leather may be split to a uniform thickness or scarfed at will.

Certain classes of splitting machines comprise a knife which is fixed to the framework of the machine, and has situated immediately beneath it and lying longitudinally in the same direction thereof a worksupporting roller. This roller is substantially of the same length as the said knife and is mounted so as to be adjustable toward and from the knife for the purpose of determining the thickness to which the material is to be split. In order to carry out this adjustment the roller is mounted so as to move angularly on pivots eccentrically.

mounted on a carrier which is provided with a cut-away portion to receive said roller. The carrier is mounted so as to be capable of partial rotation in the main frame of the machine and is provided with an arm through which is screwed an adjusting screw, this adjusting screw passing through the said arm and bearing against the frame of the machine so that as the screw is rotated in one direction it will turn the said carrier about its axis while when the screw is turned in the other direction it will allow the carrier to move in the re verse direction under the action of springs which tend to turn the carrier so as to raise the work-supporting roller toward the knife.

In the operation of the machine the leather or similar sheet material which is to be split is placed between the work-supporting roller and the knife and underneath a yielding plate which presses the stock against the roller. The stock is then pulled by hand past the said knife whereby it is split. In order to regulate the thickness to which the stock is to be split the adjusting screw is turned as aforesaid so that the roller and consequently. the surface of the stock resting sired, however, to sever the piece of stock and particularly to sever it on an angle, for example, to scarf the ends of a piece of leather which is subsequently to be made into an endless belt.

A feature of the present invention, there fore, consists of the combination with a splitting machine comprising a work support, a knife and mechanism for controlling the separation of the knife and support to determine the thickness of the finished prod not, said mechanism being capable of being thrown out of operation, of an attachment comprising substitute controlling mechanism, and means whereby it may be operated to cause the stock to be severed.

Other features of the invention relate to details of construction and combinations of the substitute controlling mechanism.

Referring now to the accompanying dr P ings, Figure 1 is an end elevation of a machine in which the present invention is embodied, certain parts being shown in section, and Fig. 2 is a plan of the machine, the knife holder, knife, work supporting roll and carrier having been broken out to show the manner in which the attachment is mounted.

The machine comprises a frame 1 in bearings 3, 5 of which is mounted for angular movement a carrier 7. The carrier 7 is pro vided with a cut-away. part 9 in which is located a wort-supporting roller 11 rotatably mounted on a spindle 13 secured by screws 15 in enlarged portions 17, 19 of the carrier 7. It will be seen that the spindle 13 is mounted on the carrier 7 in a position which is eccentric to the center of angular movement of the said carrier so that when the latter is turned in its bearings 3, 5 in one or the other direction the spindle 13, and consequently the roller 11 mounted thereon, will be swung upwardly or downwardly and moved nearer to or farther away from a knife 21 which is secured by bolts 23 to extensions of the bearings 3,

In order to adjust the spindle 13 and coin sequently the work-supporting roller 11 nearer to or farther away from the knife 21, an arm 25 is attached to the carrier 7, and through this arm is screwed a handle 27. The lower end of this handle (see Fig. 1)

LZfarther away from the knife by means of dud threaded through the arm 25 and arranged to bear against the frame of the machine so that when the handle is rotated in one direction it will move the roller 11 away from the knife 21 while when it is rotated in the reverse direction it will allow the said roller to be moved toward the knife by the action of spring-pressed plungers 2t) and 31. The said spring-pressed plungers, which, are situated within bosses 3;) on the frame 1, bear against cut-away parts formed in the portions 1?, 19 of the carrier 7. The strength of the springs acting on the said plungers can be varied by means of bolts 35 which are screwed into the bosses 33 and bear on the said springs. A yielding presser plate 37 is provided which is adapted to bear yieldingly upon the material on the roller 11, the said material, as shown, being passed between the presser plate 3'7 and the roller 11. The yielding presser plate comprises a bar which is mounted for vertical move meat on rods 39 which are secured to the bearings 3, 5. Springs 41 are provided which surround the said rods and bear on the bar and thus hold the latter yieldingly in position. The strength of the springs ll is rendered adjustable by means of milled nuts L3.

in the operation of the machine just described the leather or similar sheet material which is to be split is placed between the work-supporting roller 11, and the knife 21 and yielding presser plate 37, an extension 4L5 of the arm 25 being provided to which a treadle may be attached to swing the roller 11 away from the knife and presser plate and allow the material to be inserted. The roller 11 having been allowed to return to its operative position, the stock is then seized by the hand and pulled against the said knife whereby it is split. In order to vary the thickness to which the stock is to be split the roller 11 is adjusted nearer to or the handle 27 as previously described.

In order to bevel the ends of leather or like sheet material the following mechanism is provided, which comprises a bracket 47 which is mounted to slide in guides formed in the frame 1, as shown clearly in Fig. 2. The bracket 1? is provided with a forked portion in the two arms of which is pivoted by means of pivot screws &9 a clamp member 51 having a handle 53. A bar 55 is provided on the bracket L7 against which the clamp member 51 is adapted to bear when it is swung in one direction about its pivots To the bracket 47 is pivoted at 57 a block 59 having formed thereon a cam groove 61.

The free end of the block 59 is supported by a lever 63 which is pivoted to the bracket at? at (35 for a purpose which will be described later. This lever is provided with a head 67 which fits into a recess formed in the block 59. The carrier 7 is provided with an arm. 69 carrying a cam roll 71 which is adapted to travel in the cam groove 61. In the use of the machine the bracket t? is first moved inwardly of the machine so that the cam roller 71 is in close proximity to the headed portion of the lever 63. The material, for instance a belt or strap 100, which is to be scarfed then passed between the work-supporting roller 11 and the knife 21 and presscr plate 37, as previously described; and the end thereof is passed between the clamp member 51 and the bar 55. The handle 53 is then grasped and pulled outwardly or toward the left in the figures. This has the effect not omy of clai'nping the belt 100 firmly betweei'i the clamp member 51 and the bar but also of moving the bracket *1? outwardly and thus drawing the belt past the knife 21.. While the belt is being so drawn the cam roller 71 will traverse the cam groove s1 from left to right. As the cam roller 71 traverses the cam groove 61 the carrier 7, and consequently the roller 11, will be moved angular-1y toward the knife by reason of the inclination of the said cam groove to the horizontal so that the belt will be drawn past the knife 21 and also moved upwardly by the roller 11 and thus be cut to a bevel or scarf. There is thus provided a gripping means which is movable to draw the stock past the knife and support, and mechanism operated by said drawing move ment for causing the work support to move toward the knife. When the machine is being used in this manner it is desirable that the spring-pressed plungers 29, 31 should be rendered inoperative, and to carry this into effect a slide rod 73 is provided which is mounted to slide in bearings in the frame 1. This slide rod has arms 75, 7? carrying pins 79, S1. When the rod T3 is in its inward position, or in the position shown in Fig. 2, these pins engage annular recesses formed on the plungers 29, 31 when the said plungers have been forced away from the carrier 7 against their springs and hold them away from the said carrier. The arm d5 may be manipulated to force back the plungers prior to the locking operation of the pins 79 81. When the rod '73 is moved outwardly the spring-pressed plungers will be free to act on the carrier 7.

In order to vary the angle of the scarf the block 59 is moved about its pivot 57 by swinging the lever 63 upwardly and down wardly, and this has the effectof altering the inclination of the cam to the horizontal plane, thus varying the rate of upward movement of the material toward the knife in relation to the rate of traverse between the knife and the said material. The lever 63 is swung about its pivot by means of a handle 85, and the said lever is locked in its position of adjustment by means of a pawl 87 which is pivoted to the lever 63 at 89 and has a spring 91 acting thereon and tending.

tions 88 whereby the pawl can be swung about its pivot and removed from contact with any of the teeth on the quadrant. It will be seen that in order to vary the angle of the cam 61 to the horizontal it is only necessary to move the pawl 87 about its pivot so as to release it from engagement with the quadrant 93 and then swing the lever 03 about its pivot in one or the other direction whereby the inclination of the cam to the horizontal will be altered.

In order to prevent the bracket 47 being drawn completely out of the machine when it is pulled outwardly, a spring-pressed pin 95 is provided which is mounted in the frame of the machine and which projects into a groove formed in the underside of the bracket as will be seen from Fig. 2.

The mechanism just described for scarfing or cutting the ends of straps or belts to a bevel is adapted to be moved entirely from the machine so as to leave the machine available for use as an ordinary splitting machine. In order to carry this out the springpressed pin 95 is provided with a projecting arm 97 that projects through a slot in the frame and is adapted to be engaged by a lever 99 pivoted at 101 to the frame of the machine. It will be seen that, if this lever is moved downwardly, the spring-pressed pin will be depressed, and the bracket and v consequently the parts mounted thereon can then be removed entirely from the machine. 7

Before the machine is used as an ordinary splitting machine the slide rod 73 will be pulled in a direction such that the pins 79, 81 will be drawn clear of the plungers 31, 29 so that the springs will act on the carrier 7 in the manner previously mentioned.

In order to assist in positioning the material when the machine is being used as a scarfing machine a gage is provided having a horizontal portion 105 projecting therefrom at right angles. It is intended when the machine is in use that one end of the material to be out should be passed between the knife and roller and under the springpressed guide 37 previously described so as to rest on the portion 105 and abut against the upstanding lip 107.

Preferably the axis of the pivot 57 of the block 59 is arranged so that it coincides with the axis of the cam roller 71 when the bracket at? has been moved sufficiently to bring the surface of the work-supporting roller 11 approximately level with the knife 21 since by this means the scarf or bevel always terminates at a fixed distance from the clamp.

The invention has been set forth in connection with a splitting machine of a particular type, but it should be understood that this has been done for convenience merely and that the invention is not limited in the scope of its application to machines of the type shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. The combination with a splitting machine comprising a work support, a knife, and mechanism for controlling the separation of the knife and work support to determine the thickness of the finished product, said mechanism being capable of being thrown out of operation, of an attachment comprising substitute controlling mechanism, and means whereby said substitute controlling mechanism may be operated to cause the stock to be severed.

2. In a machine for scarfing a piece of stock, a knife, a work support, movable I means for gripping the stock and drawing it past said support and knife, an arm operatively connected with said work support, and a cam similarly connected with said arm and movable with said gripping means to cause the work support to approach the knife during the scarfing operation.

3. I11 a machine for scarfing a piece of stock, means for gripping the stock and drawing it past said support and knife, an arm operatively connected with said work support, a cam similarly connected with said arm and movable with said gripping means to cause the work support to approach the knife, and means for adjusting the cam to vary the rate of movement of said support with respect to the rate of movement of the said gripping means.

4:- In a machine for scarfing a piece of stock, a knife, a work support bodily movable means for gripping the stock and drawing it past said support and knife, an arm o-peratively connected with said support,

a roll carried by said arm, a cam carried by said gripping means and having a track to receive said roll, and means for adjusting said cam about an axis which coincides approximately with the aXis of said roll when the upper surface of said work support has been moved into the plane of the knife.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS GREAIORESE SMITH.

Witnesses FREDERICK WILLIAM WORTH, JOHN RICHARD LAW.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for'five cents each, by addressing the Washington, D. 0. 

